TO: Mayor and City Council
THROUGH: Krishna Namburi, Interim City Manager
FROM: Josh Eggleston, Chief Financial Officer
SUBJECT:
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Supplemental Budget 2 for unanticipated revenue and expenses related to Safety and Livability Strategic Action Plan in the General Fund.
Ward(s): All Wards
Councilor(s): All Councilors
Neighborhood(s): All Neighborhoods
Result Area(s): Safe and Healthy Community.
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SUMMARY:
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Since June 2025, the City has been engaged in conversation with Council, businesses and residents, and shared updates on current community-led and City-supported activities to improve safety, livability, and cleanliness in two areas of Salem experiencing higher volumes of requests for police support and emergency medical response: downtown and northeast Salem. In the current fiscal year, proposals to advance the Safe, Clean and Healthy Salem initiative would include: (1) adding two police officers in the Homeless Services Team (HST): (2) expanding the Salem Outreach and Livability Services Team (SOS) to seven days a week along with contracted services; and (3) adding a community health pilot staffed with an EMT-Basic and a Paramedic in the Fire Department as well as a Marion County provided mental health advocate. City Council has directed staff to return with a supplemental budget to address these efforts.
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ISSUE:
Shall City Council adopt Resolution No. 2025-22, Fiscal Year Supplemental Budget 2, increasing expenditure appropriation authority and revenues in the General Fund for Police, Parks, and Fire and adding two career Police Officer positions?
RECOMMENDATION:
recommendation
Adopt Resolution No. 2025-22, Fiscal Year Supplemental Budget 2, increasing expenditure appropriation authority and revenues in the General Fund for Police, Parks, and Fire and adding two career Police Officer positions.
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FACTS AND FINDINGS:
The Safe, Clean, and Healthy Salem initiative balances needs across three areas to create a measurable difference in managing and mitigating some of the public health and public safety issues in downtown and northeast Salem.
Safe
The Homeless Services Team (HST) is currently staffed by two police officers working four 10-hour shifts, Monday through Thursday. Their duties include responding to unmanaged encampments on public property, posting sites in preparation for cleanup, coordinating with service providers to ensure proper notifications, referring unsheltered individuals to resources, and providing safety and security during cleanups conducted by Salem Outreach Services (SOS). This pilot program would expand the HST from two officers to four. Expansion of the team would allow for:
• Expansion of operations to seven days per week
• Prompt response to a greater number of complaints regarding unmanaged encampments and related livability issues in the downtown core and citywide.
• More consistent attention to cleaned areas, limiting re-establishment of large encampments.
• More effective and efficient collaboration with outreach and service providers to connect individuals to housing and supportive services.
• More efficient collaboration with other law enforcement agencies in neighboring or overlapping jurisdictions
• Increased safety and security coverage for SOS crews during cleanings.
Expected Outcomes - Beginning November 2025
With current staffing, areas that have been cleaned often become reoccupied, leading to unsanitary conditions and additional cleanup costs. More consistent, continuous coverage would allow the team to monitor cleared sites, maintain sanitation, and intervene early before large encampments re-form.
Increasing HST staffing to provide seven-day-a-week coverage will reduce response times to encampments complaints and expand capacity for outreach.
Expected outcomes include:
• Faster response to reports of unmanaged encampments and associated safety concerns.
• Increased service contacts, referrals, and placements into shelter or treatment.
• Longer-lasting cleanliness and safety in parks, business corridors, and other high-impact areas.
• Reduced costs and workload tied to repeated postings and large-scale cleanups.
• Improved coordination with service providers and SOS crews to ensure efficient, safe operations.
• Fewer large unmanaged encampments and associated complaints
Overall, this investment will help the city sustain its progress on unsheltered response, preserve prior cleanup efforts, and support the City’s goal of a Safe, Clean and Healthy Salem.
The following performance measures or key performance indicators can be used to track the impact of the program:
• Number of hours spent in camps
• Number of individuals contacted at camps
• Number of referrals provided
• Number of structures located at camps
Other performance measure considerations:
• Reduction in the number of unmanaged encampments and associated structures, indicating sustained progress in maintaining cleaned areas.
• Decreased frequency of re-posting and re-cleaning previously cleared sites.
• Increased percentage of unhoused individuals receiving referrals from HST members. By doubling the number of HST officers, it is anticipated the number of individuals referred to services would increase by 50% or more.
• Increased percentage of unhoused individuals accepting referrals or services following HST contact (tracked in collaboration with partner agencies). This is not a current measure but is a long-term goal of HST.
• Improved response times to new complaints of unmanaged encampments.
• Longer duration of cleanliness and safety in public spaces, as observed through scheduled follow-up inspections.
HST notes barriers to services-such as substance use or mental health concerns-at camps they visit. This information helps align outreach and treatment providers with the specific needs of each location.
With additional staffing, HST could increase services and evaluate outcomes more effectively.
Potential Efficiencies
• Increasing the number of HST officers would create significant efficiencies and help reduce long-term costs associated with unmanaged encampments and site remediation.
• Currently, HST operates from a weekly list of complaints, balancing two priorities: responding to new reports of unmanaged encampments and monitoring areas that have already been cleaned to ensure they do not become reoccupied. This combined workload often exceeds 40 hours per week for a single team.
• Adding an additional team of HST officers would allow responsibilities for both new complaints and site maintenance to be shared, enabling more consistent coverage across seven days a week. Regularly visiting and maintaining previously cleaned locations is far more time and cost-efficient than more infrequent checks, which can result in re-posting, re-cleaning, and higher disposal costs when camps re-form and accumulate more debris.
• Expanded staffing supports a proactive approach: officers can engage unhoused individuals sooner, connect them with services, and provide on-scene safety and security for the Salem Outreach Services (SOS) cleanup crews. These efforts reduce the likelihood of hazardous waste buildup, public health risks, damage to public property, and the risk of serious crime within and near unmanaged encampments, all of which carry additional costs if not addressed promptly.
• While additional HST officers would naturally increase services in downtown and assist the Safety and Livability initiative there, the added capacity would also strengthen coverage in other neighborhoods, including northeast Salem, by allowing more flexible deployment of existing resources, seven days a week.
Clean
This pilot program would temporarily expand the Salem Outreach and Livability Services (SOS) team from four to seven days per week. Staff have volunteered to support this temporary expansion through overtime, contracted services, and supplemental labor. These experienced team members will provide daily coverage, while contracted and supplemental workers will assist as needed to ensure seven-day service.
Expected outcomes - Beginning November 2025
Expanding this service will improve trash response times, prioritizing public spaces in areas like downtown and NE Salem. A cleaner city enhances livability, supports community goals, and benefits everyone:
For individuals experiencing homelessness, we anticipate:
• Faster trash removal provides relief and helps them focus on finding shelter or housing.
• For residents and visitors: Cleaner public spaces are more welcoming and enjoyable.
• For potential investors: Reduced trash reflects a well-maintained city, boosting confidence and investment opportunities.
Volume of debris/waste removed by location is one indicator that can be used to track these outcomes.
Potential Efficiencies
The team will remove debris regardless of source, which would increase efficiency for the City. Further, having seven day coverage shall allow staff to monitor recently cleaned locations to prevent more costly build up of trash that can happen with reduced visits.
Healthy
The Community Health Response Program pilot would address those with mental health, substance use challenges, as well as those high utilizers of the 911 system. The City of Salem and Marion County share a commitment to protecting the health, safety, and well-being of our community. Increasingly, emergency responders are called to situations involving mental health crises, substance use, and individuals who frequently rely on the 911 system to meet basic needs. These challenges strain public safety resources and often do not provide individuals with the specialized care they need. To address this gap, the Salem Fire Department proposes a six-month pilot program launching the CARE Team (Capital Area Response and Evaluation Team). The CARE Team represents an alternative response model that integrates emergency medical resources with mental health expertise to ensure the right care, at the right time, in the right setting.
Expected Outcomes - Beginning January 2026
• Provide timely, appropriate care for individuals experiencing behavioral health or substance use crises.
• Reduce the burden on traditional emergency services by diverting non-acute behavioral health calls away from fire companies and ambulances.
• Engage high users of the 911 system with proactive outreach, connecting them to sustainable community supports.
• Expand access to evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders, including connections to medication-assisted treatment such as buprenorphine or buprenorphine/naloxone (Suboxone)
• Equip team members with training through Marion County Health in de-escalation, community service navigation, resource coordination, and connections to housing, emergency care, and long-term care.
• Explore safe transport alternatives for select patients to appropriate destinations such as sobering centers, crisis stabilization units, urgent care, or behavioral health facilities.
• Strengthen collaboration between Salem Fire Department, Marion County Health and Human Services, and other providers to create a seamless continuum of care.
The following performance measures or key performance indicators can be used to track the impact of the program:
• Reduction in repeat 911 usage among identified high utilizers.
• Number of responses conducted by the CARE Team.
• Number of calls where a fire company and/or ambulance remained available for other emergencies.
• Number of individuals contacted and assessed.
• Number of successful connections to mental health, substance use, or housing resources.
• Number of individuals referred or initiated into medication-assisted treatment programs (e.g., Suboxone for opioid use disorder).
• Number of alternative destination transports completed that directed individual toward appropriate, non Emergency Department care.
• Qualitative feedback from participants, first responders, and community partners.
Potential Efficiencies
Efficiencies include reduction in response by heavy fire equipment, (engines, ladders), to remain available for more serious emergencies, reduction in Emergency Department transports to free up ambulances and reduction of 911 calls.
Staff are also exploring additional community outreach efforts, including a statistically valid survey, outreach to community members, and engagement with Neighborhood Associations to collect qualitative data. As staff finalize these details, Council will receive information on these performance measures for another robust conversation on outcomes and metrics. This information, combined with quantitative data, will be provided to the Council and Budget Committee to inform their decision on the continuation of this program for FY 2027.
Budget Action - General Fund
|
Add |
Beginning Working Capital |
101-60961000-39910 |
$794,390 |
|
Add |
Salaries and Wages |
101-35202071-51010 |
$272,000 |
|
Add |
Supplies |
101-35202071-52130 |
$3,200 |
|
Add |
Overtime |
101-21502000-51030 |
$87,000 |
|
Add |
Other Professional Services |
101-21502000-52670 |
$40,000 |
|
Add |
Refuse Disposal |
101-21502000-53650 |
$24,000 |
|
Add |
Salaries and Wages |
101-37202500-51010 |
$200,000 |
|
Add |
Contingency |
101-60961000-61110 |
$168,190 |
Use of these funds would only be in place for the remainder of the fiscal year (June 30, 2026). During the annual budget process in the spring, these enhanced or new programs would be available for discussion by the Budget Committee and City Council for FY 2027. If these pilot programs are continued into FY 2027, the projected expenses increase due to the programs being active for a full year, plus general cost increases.
While the results of FY 2025 could still change with completion of the audit, Beginning Working Capital for FY 2026 currently is higher than the estimate included in the budget. The additional working capital will be used to pay for the enhanced program expenses for the remainder of the current fiscal year which are estimated at $626,200. The balance of the recognized Beginning Working Capital will be allocated to General Fund contingency.
The cost breakdown for the current fiscal year includes:
• Two permanent Police Officers for the Homeless Services Team and supplies for $275,200 in the Police Department (beginning November 2025),
• Additional overtime, disposal and contracting fees for the Salem Outreach and Livability Services Team in the Community Services Department for $151,000 (beginning November 2025) and,
• Two seasonal employees for the community health pilot for an EMT-Basic and a Paramedic for $200,000 in the Fire Department (beginning January 2026).
The Fire Department is in conversations with Marion County about staffing a Mental Health Associate for this community health pilot. Additionally, if the enhancement for the Homeless Services Team is not continued in FY 2027 by the Budget Committee and City Council, two Police Officer positions would be proposed for elimination since the program enhancement would not be continuing.
BACKGROUND:
ORS 294.471(1)(a) authorizes a supplemental budget when an occurrence or condition that is not ascertained when preparing the original budget or a previous supplemental budget for the current budget year or current budget period and that requires a change in financial planning.
Attachments:
1. Resolution No. 2025-22
2. Resolution No. 2025-22, Exhibit A
3. Resolution No. 2025-22, Exhibit B